Footballer bans the hunt from his estate

Liverpool footballer Djibril Cisse has banned hunting on his new estate.

The French striker recently bought a £2 million manor house set in nine acres of land, which was part of the route of the Cheshire Forest Hunt.

Local huntsmen had hoped Cisse, who also inherited the ancient title Lord of the Manor of Frodsham with the property, would support the hunt by allowing it to use his land.

But following an appeal from anti-hunt campaigners, the new lord of the manor has decided to refuse the hunt access to his estate, in the affluent village of Frodsham, Cheshire.

He said: "I will not permit hunting on my land."

Wanda Wyporska, spokeswoman for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We wrote to Mr Cisse after reading an article about him buying the property.

"We urged him not to let cruelty happen on his land. We were delighted when we received a call from his representatives telling us he was planning to refuse the hunt access.

"He has set a fantastic example and we would ask all landowners to follow his lead."

The Hunting Act, which came into force in February, outlaws fox-hunting, deer-hunting and hare-coursing with dogs. It is still legal for foxes to be flushed out by hounds and shot.

Richard de Prez, joint master of the Cheshire Forest Hunt, said: "It's a bit galling that Mr Cisse has apparently made a decision before we got the chance to make our points.

"We have made no contact with him so far and we will not be contacting him to try to persuade him to change his mind. We can still carry out hunting activities without the use of his land, and there are certainly no hard feelings towards him."